December 8, 2019 - February 29, 2020
An Exhibition at Rosecliff
As a painter, Louis C. Tiffany was captivated by the interplay of light
and color, and this fascination found its most spectacular expression in
his glass “paintings.” Through the medium of opalescent glass, Tiffany
could actually capture light in color and manipulate it to achieve
impressionistic effects. Using new and innovative techniques and
materials, Tiffany Studios created leaded-glass windows and lampshades
in vibrant colors and richly varied patterns, textures, and opacities.
Organized by The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in New York City, Tiffany Glass: Painting with Color and Light
is comprised of five windows, nineteen lamps, and more than 100 pieces
of opalescent flat glass and glass “jewels” that illustrate the rich
expanse of color and light available to the artists at the Tiffany
Studios.
The objects on display are some of the most iconic and celebrated of
Tiffany’s works. Chosen for their masterful rendering of nature in
flowers or landscape scenes and for the subtle use of light and shading
in decorative geometric patterns, they exemplify the rich and varied
glass palette, sensitive color selection, and intricacy of design that
was characteristic of Tiffany’s leaded-glass objects. Accompanying these
works of art is an educational model illustrating the labor-intensive
process of making leaded-glass shades as well as three examples of
Tiffany lamp forgeries to explore issues of authenticity and
connoisseurship. This exhibition also highlights some of the key figures
at the Tiffany Studios who made essential contributions to the artistry
of the windows and lamps: chemist Arthur J. Nash and leading designers
Agnes Northrop, Frederick Wilson, and Clara Driscoll.
Dr. Egon Neustadt, the founder of The Neustadt Collection,
began acquiring Tiffany lamps in 1935. He went on to amass an almost
encyclopedic collection, but perhaps his most significant acquisition
came in 1967 when he purchased the flat glass and “jewels” leftover from
the closing of the Tiffany Studios in the late 1930s. This collection
contains some 275,000 pieces of glass and is the only holding of its
kind. The mission of The Neustadt is to preserve, interpret, and develop
its holdings of Tiffany lamps, windows, glass, and related objects. A
distinctive feature of The Neustadt is its commitment to foster a better
understanding of Tiffany by making its objects available through
traveling exhibitions to museums like ours.